Won in Translation: Behind the Scenes of the 76th Emmys

If you were reaching for Google Translate during the 76th Emmys, you had some company. Maybe it was when John Leguizamo cheered the diverse crowd in L.A. LIVE's Peacock Theater with "Wepa!" (Spanish for Woo-Hoo) or when Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna introduced the limited-series directing category in Spanish. Or perhaps when Jodie Foster saluted the crew of True Detective: Night Country with "takk fyrir!" (Icelandic for thank you so much). Or when Justin Marks exclaimed "arigato gozaimasu!" (thank you very much in Japanese).

As a creator–executive producer of FX's Shōgun — which topped the Emmys with 18 wins — Marks knows something about translation. Some 70% of Shōgun's dialogue is in Japanese, translated from scripts by Marks, series cocreator Rachel Kondo and others. Its massive cast and crew drew from both sides of the Pacific.

A multicultural crowd joined Marks onstage as he accepted the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series, one of four statuettes Shōgun captured during the live ABC telecast on September 15 (on top of 14 it won at the Creative Arts Emmys). "We're so grateful to our partners at Disney Television, Hulu and especially FX," Marks said. "You guys greenlit a very expensive, subtitled Japanese period piece whose central climax revolved around a poetry competition. I have no idea why you did that, but thank you for your faith in this incredible team."

Marks then passed the mic to Hiroyuki Sanada, who had just been named Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. A first-time Emmy winner but a much-awarded actor in his native Japan, Sanada portrays Lord Toranaga in the series, adapted from the novel by James Clavell. "Let me talk in Japanese quickly," he said, then asked Marks, "Could you translate?"

Reading from notes, Marks conveyed his star's remarks: "We would like to express our deepest gratitude to all the crew, directors and masters who've inherited and supported our samurai period dramas up until now. The passion and dreams that we have inherited from you have crossed oceans and borders. Arigato gozaimasu. Thank you so much."

Watch the exclusive behind-the-scenes glimpse inside the studio at the 76th Emmy Awards.

Equally grateful was Shōgun costar Anna Sawai, voted Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Toda Mariko. Dabbing her eyes, she said, "I was crying before my name was announced!" Earlier, Frederick E.O. Toye was named the winner of Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series, for the Shōgun episode "Crimson Sky." He thanked, among others, director of photography Sam McCurdy and "my heroes who taught me how to direct: David Lean, Alfred Hitchcock, Akira Kurosawa and Robert Wise."

Show hosts Eugene Levy and his son, Dan Levy (both Emmy winners for Schitt's Creek), translated their family bond into playful banter. "I wouldn't actually even call us hosts," Dan said. "We're more like actors acting like hosts."

Translation of a very different sort was front and center in the four Emmy telecast wins for Netflix's Baby Reindeer — the processing of trauma through art. Richard Gadd first adapted his real-life experiences with sexual assault and a stalker into a one-man play and then into the streaming series. Wearing a kilt, the Scotsman accepted awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series, Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie and for Outstanding Limited Series. His costar, Jessica Gunning, won for supporting actress.

To read the rest of the story, pick up a copy of emmy magazine here.

This article originally appeared in its entirety in emmy magazine, issue #12, 2024, under the title "A Stand-up Night."